Garment press



Nov. 21,1933. 1,936,288,

GARMENT PRES S FiledjAug. 12. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 21, 1933. J, CARD 1,936,288

GARMENT PRESS Filed Aug. 12, 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

gwumtov' Nov. 21, 1933. CARD 1,936,288

GARMENT PRESS Filed Aug. 12. 1950 a Sheets-Sheet 5 zlwuantoz Jo/uz' (bin Patented Nov. 21, 1933 GARMENT PRESS John L. Card, Syracuse, N. Y., assignor to Unitedv States Hoflman Machinery Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application August 12, 1930. Serial No. 474,810

3Claims.

This invention pertains to garment presses and more specifically to foot operated mechanism designed to operate the steam and vacuum valves on the press head and buck respectively.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a linkage connecting the head valve and its operating pedal so arranged as to permit opening of the head valve regardless of the position of the press head with respect to the" buck.

In manipulating the press head of garment presses it is frequently necessary to employ both hands to maintain the lay of the goods, and under these circumstances it is desirable that the i5 steam and vacuum valves be under the control of foot operated mechanisms. Operators also find it advantageous to apply steam to the goods before the actual pressing operation, the press being open at such times. Both hands are usually hands are usually employed when holding the garment against the open press head to apply steam. A' foot operated valve in the latter instance is, therefore, practically a necessity.

One of the objects of'the' present invention is to provide a foot operated mechanism for opening the steam valve on the press head whether the head he in pressing position or fully open or in any position intermediate these limits. This mechanism is associated with the usual hand controlled-steam valve and does not interfere with manual operation of the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a foot operated lever for opening the vacuum valve on the press, the foot levers for the. vacuum and head valves being so disposed with respect to each other that a slight shifting of the operators foot permits successive opening of the two valves with the least effort.

Again by having the levers or foot pedals of 4-0 the vacuum and head valves in close proximity, simultaneous operation thereof may be had. In some cases in actual use, this simultaneous operation has been found to speed up production.

The invention is described in detail herein-' after and the drawings appended hereto illustrate two preferred arrangements of the mechanisms for carrying out the invention. In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section .50 of a garment press in which are shown foot levers and connections therefrom to the head and vacuum valves;

Fig. 2 is aside view, partly in section, of the steam valve and operating lever therefor;

Fig. 3 is a side view. partly in section, of the linkage connecting the foot lever to the valve operator;

Fig. 4: is a front perspective of the lower end of the press illustrating the arrangement of foot levers employed for theseveral operations; 69

Fig. 5 is a top fragmentary view of the foot lever and the yoke connecting the lever with the valve operator;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the-valve operator lever; 55

Fig. 7 is a side view, partly in section, of a modified form of foot operated mechanism for opening the steam valve; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective'view of the valve operator illustrated in Fig. 7. Referring to the drawings, it will'be seen that the press comprises the usual frame 11 to which is fixed the lower pressing element or buck 12. To the rear upward extension 13 of the frame is pivoted a press head lever 14 having a press '1 head '15 and handle 16 thereon. It is to be understood that any of the customary mechanical movements and countennovement devices for lowering and elevating the press head lever during pressing operations maybe applied to the 30 press, but'forthe sake of cleamess these parts have been'omitted from the drawings.

' Surmounting the press head is a steam or head valve denoted generally by 1'7 employed for controlling-emission of steam from the head 15. The valve is of the well known type and is, there! fore, not described in detail. The valve stem 18 is provided with a shoulder 19 and at its upper end carries a washer 21 held in place by a'nut 22. The stem passes through an enlargement 9 -23 on the operating lever 24 and disposed between the washer and shoulder.

Lever 24 is pivoted at 24 on a bracket 25 associated with the head and shown in the present case as secured to the upper portion or stem .17 of the valve casing. The valve is normally 'held closed by a Spring 27 adjustably attached to levet 24 bya nut 28 and tea hook 29 on the bracket 25.

It is apparent that depression of the forward portion of lever '24 raises the valve to open it and permit steam to flow from the press vhead. Opening of the valve islimited by an adjustable stop 31 onbracket 25.

Provision is made, as above noted, for operat- I ing the head valve through the utilization of a foot actuated lever, one form of which" means will now be described. Pivoted at 2 ,to bracket 25 is a lever designated generally by 32 and comtwo spaced similar L-shaped members 33, 34 having a bridge 35 connecting their upper portions. Through the lower ends of the members 33, 34, there is passed a pin 36 which also passes through the eyes of a yoke 37 adjustably threaded to a link 38. The link is similarly fastened at its other end to a yoke 39 which is pivotally connected to one arm of a bell crank lever 41, the latter being rockably mounted on a spacer bolt 42 between the two side frames.

From Fig. 2 it will be seen that the bridge 35 is disposed beneath and is adapted to engage lever 24 to lift the valve. Since the pivot of link 38 does not coincide with the fulcrum 43 of lever 14, the lower end of lever 32 will be pulled a slight distance toward fulcrum 43 as the head carrying lever is being elevated to its extreme open position.

Preferably, the pivotal connection of link 38 with lever 41 is so disposed that a line passing through this pivot and the fulcrum 43 bisects the angle representing the extreme upper and. lower positions of lever 14. In this way, the movement of lever 32 during elevation of the press lever is minimized. In order to compensate for this movement and so as to prevent actuation of the steam valve in consequence thereof, there is a clearance between bridge 85 and lever 24 when the lever is in either of its extreme positions. This clearance is substantially equal to the displacement of lever 32 resulting from its compound movement about its two fulcra.

The spacer bolt 42 is preferably below and near the fulcrum 43 of the press head lever 14. A second bell crank 44 is pivoted on the frame 11 near'the base thereof, one arm of said crank being connected by means of link 45 with bell crank 41, and the other arm having a connection with the foot lever 46 through link 47. Yokes 48, 49, 51, 52 are adjustably fastened to these links and pivotally secured to the bell cranks and foot lever.

Link 45 comprises two rods 45 and 45" having a yieldable connection therebetween. This connection consists of a nipple 53 having threaded thereto at each end apertured caps 54 through which the rods pass. The rods each have a. nut 55 thereon, but on the lower rod 45' there is also a washer 56 between which and the lower cap 54 is a spring 5'7.

The foot lever 46 is pivoted on shaft 58 and is provided with a weighted extension 59, the purpose of which is to maintain the pedal in inoperative position. There is also an angular extension 61 on the foot lever forming a bell crank therewith. It is to this latter extension that yoke 52 is secured.

In addition to the steam valve on the press head there is provided a valve 62 beneath the buck, the purpose of which is to open the buck to a suction line 60. The valve is illustrated diagrammatically and its connections to the buck and customary ejector are omitted, these parts being well known and not forming part of the present invention.

The valve 62, usually referred to as a vacuum valve, is adapted to be opened by a second foot lever 63 fastened to shaft 58, a rod 64 connecting the valve with arm 65 also fastened to shaft 58. It will be seen, by reference to Fig. 4, that foot levers 46 and 63 are disposed adjacent each other so that, by pivoting on his heel, the operator may depress the levers in succession without changing his position in front of the 'machine. Again, by reason of their close association, both of the levers 46 and 63 may e S taneously depressed, thus ensuring ejection of steam from the head as well as establishing vacuum. The usual toggle pedal 66, kick-off 6'7 and buck-steam lever 68 are also pivoted on shaft 58.

The operation of the mechanism so far ,described is as follows: Assuming the operator wishes to employ both hands to hold the goods against the head while the latter is elevated, foot lever 46 is depressed, whereupon extension 61 is rocked forwardly, and, through bell cranks 44, 41 and rods 4'7, 45, link 38 is pulled rearwardly. Normally, there is but a slight relative change of the positions of the valve lever 24 and the steam valve as the press lever is swung above the press and it is, therefore, apparent that when the link 38 is pulled rearwardly, bridge 35 engages lever 24 to open the steam valve regardless of the position of the lever 14 with respect to the press buck. The foot lever may also be employed to advantage when it is desired to steam a garment during the actual pressing operation, in which case the operator is free to use both hands for other operations. 4

Due to the proximity of the vacuum valve lever 63 to steam valve lever 46, it will be seen that these levers may be depressed in sequence and alternately by a mere pivotal movement of the operators foot. Furthermore, the operator may by the use of one foot depress both levers simultaneously and thus effect steaming and the establishment of vacuum at the same time. Manual actuation of the steam valve lever 24 is, of course, permissible since there is no direct connection between the foot and hand levers.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. '7 and 8, except for the mechanism which is mounted on and swings with the press lever, the press and the connections with the foot levers are identical with those shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The same reference characters have been applied to those parts common to both forms of the invention, and, therefore, only those elements which differ from the form of the invention described with respect to Figs. 1 to 6 will be referred to.

Pivoted to bracket 25 is an inverted U-shaped lever 71 having a projecting finger .72 adapted to overlie and engage lever 24 forwardly of its fulcrum. The lower ends of the legs of lever '71 are connected to a yoke '13 which, in turn, is secured to one end of link 38. The other end of link 38 is threaded into a slidable block '74 having therein an elongated slot '75 cooperating with the fulcrum shaft 43 of the press lever. Block '74 is provided i with a shoulder '76, the face '77 of which is arcuate. Bell crank lever 78 is pivoted at 42, one of its arms having a roller '79 thereon coacting with the arcuate face '77, and its other arm being connected to rod 45.

In this form of the invention depression of the foot lever rocks bell crank lever 78 in a clockwise direction, thereby urging block '74 rearwardly. This rearward movement of the slidable block rocks lever '71, and consequently, lever 24 to open the steam valve. It will be seen that the arcuate shoulder permits swinging of the press lever without relative change in the positions of the steam valve and lever '71, but, regardless of the position of the press lever with respect to the buck, depression of the foot lever results in rearward movement of the block '74 and opening of the steam valve.

vacuum valves is the same as that shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Although the invention has been described in detail and preferred embodiments thereof illustrated, the particular arrangement of parts is subject to modification. Such changes as are necessary to simplify or improve the mechanisms are, therefore, contemplated.

What is claimed is:-

1. In a garment press, a frame; a fixed pressing element on said frame; a lever pivoted on said frame and having a press head thereon; a steam valve on said head; a foot lever; a rocker arm pivoted to said frame adjacent the fulcrum of said head press lever and connected to said foot lever, said arm being adapted to be rocked by said foot lever; a manually operated lever for opening said steam valve; arocker lever adapted to coact with said manually operated lever for opening the valve; and means connecting said rocker arm and said rocker lever whereby the valve may be opened by the foot lever.

2. In a garment press, a frame; a fixed pressing element on said frame; a movable pressing element mounted for swinging movement on said frame; a steam valve on said movable element;

a hand operated lever for opening said valve; a rocker lever pivoted on said steam valve and adapted to coact with said first-mentioned lever for opening the valve; a second rocker lever pivoted adjacent the fulcrum of the movable pressing element; a foot lever; means connecting said rocker levers; and means connecting the foot lever and said second rocker lever whereby de-. pression of said foot lever rocks both of said rocker levers and opens said valve.

3. In a garment press, a frame; a fixed presslng element on said frame; a movable pressing element mounted for swinging movement on the frame; a steam valve on said movable element; valve operating mechanism including a reciprocable member swingable with said movable element; a rocker arm pivoted below the fulcrum of said movable element; a block slidably mounted on said fulcrum, and connected to said reciprocable element; a foot lever; means connecting said foot lever and said rocker arm; and coacting means on said rocker arm and said'block to reciprocate said reciprocable member when said foot lever is depressed.

JOHN L. CARD. 

